Caselist

Updated as of Tuesday, December 11, 2018

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Some cases may be on review with another attorney. As one case can only be on review with one attorney at a time, cases marked as “On Review” are not currently available. However, these cases may return to the list if not accepted by the reviewing attorney, so please indicate your interest so that your name may be added to the queue in the event the case becomes available.

To request a case, please email Laura Levin-Dando, VLA’s Staff Attorney, at probono@vlany.org. Please indicate the case number in the email subject line.

Contract

16383 – NEW CASE – On Review
Client, a dance producer and manager, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to review and update a management agreement template.

Film/TV

16402 – NEW CASE – On Review
Client, an actor, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to terminate or renegotiate her current management contract.

16134 – On Review
Client, a filmmaker who authored a web series, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to draft a crew deal memo.

Photography

16348Client, the friend of a deceased artist, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to draft a contract with the artist’s heirs in order to be named as the curator of the artist’s oeuvre, and to troubleshoot legal issues regarding the display of the artist’s works and the creation of derivative works.

Theater

16385 – On ReviewClient, a writer and director of musicals, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to acquire the necessary rights for producing a musical based on a documentary about a family of performers.

16286 – On ReviewClient, a non-profit theater company, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to draft contracts for authors and directors of plays in which students perform.

Visual

16401 – NEW CASE – On ReviewClient, a visual artist, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to draft an independent contractor agreement.

Copyright

Film/TV

16125
Client, a documentary filmmaker producing a film about a drag and burlesque collective in Brooklyn, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to obtain the rights to several songs featured in the film’s footage of subjects’ performances.

Visual

16384 – On ReviewClient, a visual artist and sculptor, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to negotiate compensation for a California university’s use of his designs in promotional material.

15856Client, a painter, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to respond to the offering of his original works for sale on an online auction site without his permission.

Corporate

16382 – NEW CASE – On ReviewClient, a dance producer and manager, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to form an LLC for her dance management company.

Dispute / Litigation / Negotiation

Fashion

16322 – On Review
Client, a fashion designer, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to stop online stores from infringing her copyright in her photography and shoe designs.

Film/TV

16374 – NEW CASE – On Review
Client, a film director, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to represent Client in a dispute between the Client and one of the film’s producers over lack of credit and Client’s removal from a project.

16307 – On Review
Client, a screenwriter, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to assess Client’s rights against a film company that released a film with strong similarities to Client’s copyrighted screenplay, and to pursue relief if appropriate.

16239 Client, a not-for-profit filmmaking organization, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to respond to a former collaborator who harassed a board member, filed an ethics complaint against Client and its president, and continues to speak disparagingly about Client in the filmmaking community.

16181 Client, a radio documentary producer whose work is featured in a documentary film without her permission, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to draft a cease and desist letter, and to either negotiate a new license agreement or potentially bring a breach of contract claim against involved parties.

16053 – On ReviewClient, a founding member of a media company, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to navigate a dispute with his former business partner in regard to conflicting interests in their LLC.

16043
Client, a screenwriter whose former collaborator completed and released their joint project without Client’s participation or approval, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney evaluate her options, including mediation, in order to demand credit for the project or to have it removed from the internet.

15969Client, a film producer who co-created a documentary about a music summer camp, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to resolve a dispute with a business partner who has continued the project without Client’s participation or approval.

15777 – On ReviewClient, a scriptwriter, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to resolve a dispute with a director who used Client’s autobiographical script and personal photographs to create a feature film.

Literary

16387 Client, an artist and writer, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney for negotiation and possible mediation of a copyright dispute over her late husband’s estate.

16121 Client, the author of several well-known books, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to resolve a dispute over the estate of her previous business partner. Client and her previous partner owned a joint copyright to the photographs in the books, which have been reproduced and licensed without her permission.

16013
Client, an author, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to resolve a dispute regarding funds that a publisher paid her under a contract, to regain intellectual property rights in the works covered under the parties’ contract, and to enforce her privacy rights which she believes her publisher has violated.

15809
Client, the daughter-in-law of a notable actor, author, and radio celebrity (now deceased), seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to collect past due royalty payments inherited from Client’s late father-in-law’s publication of a book on hypnosis.

Music

16393 – NEW CASEClient, a singer-songwriter, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to remove her song from music streaming websites that are mis-attributing the song. The song is currently listed with another woman’s photo and biography.

16323 – On ReviewClient, a songwriter, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to obtain accountings from parties that she believes are wrongfully licensing out her music, in order to determine whether she is owed royalties.

16310Client, a recording artist whose album has been offered for sale without her knowledge or consent, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to determine the royalties that she is owed from the distribution of her album, and to assess her rights under the governing recording contract.

16282Client, a singer, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to receive credit for the twelve years of work she did on behalf of a well-known jazz musician.

Photography

16142Client, a visual artist, seeks assistance of a volunteer attorney to resolve a contractual dispute with a photographer with whom she collaborated on a project.

16011Client, the recipient of a sizable photography grant, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to resolve a dispute with a former partner who received half of the grant to promote the project but failed to execute the work promised.

Theater

16289 – On ReviewClient, a theatre company, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to recover raw footage of film that a production company contractually agreed to edit several years ago.

16163Client, an actor whose profile was removed from a casting website when he was recovering from surgery, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to have his profile restored and to receive a refund for the fees he paid to the website.

16150Client, a musical theater composer, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to negotiate a copyright dispute with a former writing partner.

Visual

16273Client, a community-focused public artist whose work is installed in a New York City park, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to assess Client’s claim of copyright infringement against a corporate art installation, and to pursue relief if appropriate.

16261Client, a sculptor of industrial works resembling natural organisms, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney in resolving a dispute with her gallery concerning an accounting and return of Client’s works.

Employment

Film/TV

16144Client, a professional actress, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to negotiate a workplace harassment and retaliation claim with a major media network.

Literary

16270 – On ReviewClients, a freelance writer for museum audio tours, seeks the advice of a volunteer attorney specializing in employment law, regarding a confidentiality clause and potential non-compete policy with a production company.

Theater

16368 – On ReviewClient, a clown who performs for patients in hospitals, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to negotiate with his employer over a restrictive non-compete which the employer wants to impose.

Immigration

Dance

15479 Client, a dancer whose current work authorization expired in June 2017, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to determine the best course of action for him to secure a green card.

Film/TV

15920 Client, a film director and professor from Greece, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to apply for an O-1 visa.

15916Client, a Canadian film producer working in the U.S. on an O1-B visa, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to apply for a green card.

15713Client, an actor from Spain, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to determine the best course of action for her to secure a green card.

Mixed

16311 Client, a fashion designer and multi-media artist, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to obtain a visa that would enable her to keep her position at the Ecuadorian American Cultural Center after her current employment authorization expires in May 2019.

16188Client, an internationally renowned, interdisciplinary digital media and installation artist, seeks the assistance of a volunteer lawyer to renew his O-1 visa and apply for a green card. Client’s current O-1 visa will expire in October 2018.

15917Client, a Canadian architect, illustrator, game inventor and visual artist, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to apply for an O- 1 visa.

Music

16191 Client, a lead singer of an internationally acclaimed music duo and solo performer, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to renew her O-1 visa or apply for a green card.

Theater

16347Client, a singer/actor/dancer and teacher from Australia, seeks the assistance of a volunteer immigration attorney to renew her O-1 Visa. She has a contract that needs to be renewed, so needs to renew her O-1 by the end of 2018.

16215 Client, an actress and dialect coach, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to apply for a one-year extension of her O-1 visa and to apply for a green card on an EB-1 visa. Client’s visa expired on August 29, 2018.

15448 Client, an actor from Spain, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to apply for an O-1 visa or a green card.

Visual

16105 Client, a Spanish journalist and the wife of a Spanish visual artist, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to complete the process of applying for either an I or an O3 visa.

Mediation

Non-Profit

Music

16379 – NEW CASE – On Review
Client, a musician who formed a non-profit organization to fundraise for the victims of an earthquake, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to dissolve the organization.

Theater

16395 – NEW CASE – On Review
Client, the founders of an organization dedicated to celebrating women in theater, seek the assistance of a volunteer attorney to form a not-for-profit entity, apply for tax exempt status, and draft foundational documents.

Visual

16386 – On Review
Client, a non-profit organization dedicated to sculpture, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to draft updated bylaws and review its Certificate of Incorporation.

Real Estate/Landlord/Tenant

Visual

16337
Client, a visual artist, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney in litigation against the seller of a property with regard to a failed closing. The seller is refusing to let Client exercise her rights under the drop-out clause of purchase agreement.

Trademark

Wills, Trusts, and Estates

Dance

16335 – On Review
Client, a children’s entertainer, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to draft a will, a living will, and health care proxy.

Visual

16217
Client, a visual artist, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to establish a foundation to manage her art, and to revise her will appropriately.

15779
Client, an accomplished painter, seeks the assistance of a volunteer attorney to draft a will, a living will, and health care proxy.